A BAHA'I CALLIGRAPHY PANEL SIGNED MISHKIN QALAM Iran, dated 1318...
A BAHA'I CALLIGRAPHY PANEL SIGNED MISHKIN QALAM
Iran, ated 1318 AH (1900 AD)
Arabic text on lined paper, comprising four lines of nasta'liq script in black ink, arranged diagonally within cloud-shaped bands against a gilded ground, the composition also includes the typical Bahá’í introductory invocation and a colophon, surrounded by scrolling gilt foliage and polychrome flowers, contained within two triangular cartouches placed respectively at the beginning and end of the text panel, the border is further embellished with lobed cartouches decorated with flowers and filled with gilt tendrils against a red ground. Signed 'Mishkin Qalam' and dated 1318 AH; the text comprises a poem traditionally attributed to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, reading: Razina qismat al-jabbar fina, lana ilm wa lil-a'da amal; fa-inna al-mal nafsi an qarib, wa-inna al-ilm baqin la yazal - We accept with grace the Almighty’s decree: knowledge is ours, while wealth is left to our foes, for worldly riches soon shall fade away, while knowledge shall endure forever.'
26.6cm x 20cm
Mishkin Qalam (1826–1912), born Mirza Husayn Isfahani in Iran, was a celebrated Persian calligrapher and scribe whose talent attracted the attention of the Qajar ruler Nasir al-Din Shah, who bestowed upon him the name 'Mishkin Qalam' ('Black' or 'Musk-scented Pen'), while serving at the Qajar court in Tabriz, he embraced the Bahá’í Faith and later travelled to Adrianople, where he became a scribe to Bahá’u’lláh. Following Bahá’u’lláh’s exile to Acre in 1868, Mishkin Qalam was sent to Cyprus before eventually joining the Bahá’í community in Acre. He spent his later years in India and Acre, producing transcriptions of Bahá’í writings and becoming particularly renowned for his elaborate tughra compositions and figural calligraphies incorporating Bahá’í texts.
Literature:
Oeming Badiee, J., and Badiee, H., The Calligraphy of Mishkín-Qalam, Journal of Bahá’í Studies, vol. 3, no. 4, 1990–91, pp. 1–22.
Rafati, V., and Schimmel, A., Mishkín Qalam: XIX Century Artist & Calligrapher, Society for Persian Letters & Arts, Landegg Academy, Darmstadt, Reyhani, 1992.
Stermotich Cappellari, F., The Calligraphic Art of Mishkin Qalam, in Yuka Kadoi (ed.), Persian Art: Image-Making in Eurasia, Edinburgh University Press, 2018, pp. 133–156.
A BAHA'I CALLIGRAPHY PANEL SIGNED MISHKIN QALAM
Iran, ated 1318 AH (1900 AD)
Arabic text on lined paper, comprising four lines of nasta'liq script in black ink, arranged diagonally within cloud-shaped bands against a gilded ground, the composition also includes the typical Bahá’í introductory invocation and a colophon, surrounded by scrolling gilt foliage and polychrome flowers, contained within two triangular cartouches placed respectively at the beginning and end of the text panel, the border is further embellished with lobed cartouches decorated with flowers and filled with gilt tendrils against a red ground. Signed 'Mishkin Qalam' and dated 1318 AH; the text comprises a poem traditionally attributed to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, reading: Razina qismat al-jabbar fina, lana ilm wa lil-a'da amal; fa-inna al-mal nafsi an qarib, wa-inna al-ilm baqin la yazal - We accept with grace the Almighty’s decree: knowledge is ours, while wealth is left to our foes, for worldly riches soon shall fade away, while knowledge shall endure forever.'
26.6cm x 20cm
Mishkin Qalam (1826–1912), born Mirza Husayn Isfahani in Iran, was a celebrated Persian calligrapher and scribe whose talent attracted the attention of the Qajar ruler Nasir al-Din Shah, who bestowed upon him the name 'Mishkin Qalam' ('Black' or 'Musk-scented Pen'), while serving at the Qajar court in Tabriz, he embraced the Bahá’í Faith and later travelled to Adrianople, where he became a scribe to Bahá’u’lláh. Following Bahá’u’lláh’s exile to Acre in 1868, Mishkin Qalam was sent to Cyprus before eventually joining the Bahá’í community in Acre. He spent his later years in India and Acre, producing transcriptions of Bahá’í writings and becoming particularly renowned for his elaborate tughra compositions and figural calligraphies incorporating Bahá’í texts.
Literature:
Oeming Badiee, J., and Badiee, H., The Calligraphy of Mishkín-Qalam, Journal of Bahá’í Studies, vol. 3, no. 4, 1990–91, pp. 1–22.
Rafati, V., and Schimmel, A., Mishkín Qalam: XIX Century Artist & Calligrapher, Society for Persian Letters & Arts, Landegg Academy, Darmstadt, Reyhani, 1992.
Stermotich Cappellari, F., The Calligraphic Art of Mishkin Qalam, in Yuka Kadoi (ed.), Persian Art: Image-Making in Eurasia, Edinburgh University Press, 2018, pp. 133–156.
